The Mishing people or Mising also called Miri , are an ethnic tribal group inhabiting the districts of Dhemaji, Lakhimpur, Sonitpur, Tinsukia, Dibrugarh, Sibsagar, Jorhat and Golaghat of the Assam state in India. The total population is more than 1 million in Assam but there are also more than 50,000 Mishing, divided among three districts: East Siang district, Lower Dibang Valley, and Lohit districts of Arunachal Pradesh. Few of them have settled themselves permanently in National capital Delhi and few hundreds in Mumbai which is the financial capital of India. They are the second largest tribal group in North-East India, first being the Bodos in Assam. They were earlier called Miris in historical days. and the Constitution of India still refers to them as Miris.

Mishing derives from the two word Mi and Toshing/Anshing. "Mi" means man while Anshing/Toshing means worthiness or cool. So Mishing means man of worthiness. The word mi is familiar to many tribe in south east Asia. Mizo and Mishmi are one such example. To depict non-tribal outsiders (most probably the general assamese people) the word Mipak is used extensively which means man of unworthiness. So Mipak is the opposite meaning of Mishing.

the Mishing people are found mostly in the northern banks of the river Brahmaputra. They concentrated in the district of Lakhimpur, Dhemaji, Jorhat, Sibsagar, Dibrugarh, Sonitpur etc. The Mishings are originally a hill tribe who inhabitated in the Abor, Miri, and Mishmi hills of Arunachal Pradesh. The Mishings are much more similarity with Adi or Abor of Arunachal Pradesh in respect of Language, customs, dress and physical status. Similar to some other tribes of the region, the Mishings are also said to be of the Mongoloid origin. The Mishings constitute patrilinial society and the descent is trace from father side. They live reverine areas of upper Assam district.

It is believed the Mishings migrated to Assam during the thirteenth century in search of fertile lands. They settled down in the fertile lands along the mighty river Brahmaputra. The most striking feature of the Mishingsociety is its exceptional houses called Chang Ghar. These houses are built on raised platforms with bamboo stilts and have thatched roofs. The reasons behind the raised homes are to protect them from floodwater and wild beasts. The social belief of the Mishingpeople is that a guest is accepted only after he or she climbs up the staircases of the house. A Mishinghouse has a central kitchen adopted for the large joint family.

The Mishings generally follow Hinduism and Doniyo Polo religions but nowadays, some of them also practice Christianity. The Ali Aye Ligang and Porag are twois the main festival for the Mishings in Assam, which is celebrated with great exuberance. Men and women put on their favorite clothes to line up for their traditional dances dedicated to the festival. Ai-nitom (love songs) is the most popular folksongs of the Mishing likewise Gomrang is the popular dance form of them. There are different types of folksongs and dance forms which are associated with their agro-based rites and rituals. To perform folksongs and dances they also play different types of percussion instruments, flutes, string instruments and solid instruments which produce different musical sound.

Music and Musical Instruments
Music is an integral part of the culture and a product of human society. It can be broadly divided into two categories. One is raga oriented; i.e; classical music which is more sophisticated and refined and philosophical and other is folk music that is relatively simple and spontaneous outburst of folk mind and heart. Folk music reflects the outdoor and indoor life of the folk people and it does not follow any strict rule of composition and performance. The study covers only the second category i.e., folk music and folk musical instruments. Folk songs and folk musical instrument are two major genre of folk music. The folk musical instruments play a dominant role in performing folk songs and dances. The musical instrument used by different communities varies community to community particularly in its size and shape and sound production..

A basic characteristic of the ethnic music of Assam is its descending scale which distinguishes it from the raga-based or folk music from the rest of India. This style is shared by ethnic music of the hill people surrounding the state of Assam, and by the music of Thailand, Myanmar and China. Furthermore, the tunes are structured in a pyramid, in contrast to the music of rest of India which is mend based. Assam is a state with valleys and hills, and the home of many ethnic tribes. Music has been imperative in the Assamese subsistence. There is no precise attestation to substantiate the dawning of Assamese music, however, it could be stated that Assam has been musically affluent since the naissance of the mighty Brahmaputra.

The Mishing have a rich tradition of performing arts and folk music. The musical tradition of the land is equally rich. Folk songs and music related to Ali Aye Ligang, Porag and other festivals dates back to time-immemorial. The Mishings musicians use a large numbers of traditional musical instruments including several types of drums, string instruments, flutes, cymbals, pipes, etc. The Mishing people have made good use of bamboo. There are some of the most exquisite types of flutes made from bamboo available among the Mishings of Assam. Besides they play musical instruments in religious and social functions, fairs and festivals and some other amusement activities. The Musical instruments used by the Mishings are made by local artisans using the locally available raw materials like bamboo, wood, gourds, hides, fibres, etc.